Wyoming 2005, Ground Penetrating Radar Survey
 Written by Todd Bowers
Last update (9-20-05)

Introduction
      This survey will take place during the week of September 24th to the 1st of October. The dig site is located on private land in Wyoming, and the University of Kansas has permission to excavate the land. All specimens found belong to the land owner. Numerous remains of dinosaurs and turtles have already been excavated from this site. Most of the specimens have been located in mudstone which is deposited in scour surfaces of the underlying sand stone unit. Becuase these scour surfaces are part of a fluvial system, there location is difficult to predict. The GPR will help with locating the microchannels and scours left behind. The difference in eletromagnets properties between the mudstone and the sand stone will be detected by the GPR. Depending on the size and orientation of any remains, the remains may or may not be detectable by the GPR. The bones are usually a dark color and more dense than the surrounding matrix, but I have not yet determined the eletromagnetic properies of the bones. Even if the properties of the bones where determined in a lab setting, every bone is different in size and sahpe, as well as the diagensis the remains have undergone. 
ok 
Try to look below sand stone
mud stone had been removed, but channels will be left beind
No idea what is below the sand stone, it is a mud stone, but varies
there is not idea what is going on under the sand stone.
micro channels run prallel to east other northwest to southeast
 
Morrison formation
Bones are in a mud stone
mudstone 1 meter thick, it varies
gray mudstone with bones
purple mudstone above the gray mudstone,
purple might be paleo sol
below the mudstone is a quartz, calc cement sandstone
The cement should be tested with acid 
Bring acid
cabin is 15 minutes from big site, 30 to walk


Agenda and Survey Goals
      Not all the goals listed below are related to the GPR survey. Many of the goals are ways to justify the field trip, such as taking bones up to the dig site that have been prepared at KU and need to be returned to the land owner. These other goal will help to split of the cost of fuel. the vechile we are taking get approximatly 12 miles per gallon and we are estimating a gas price of $3.00 per gallon.
  • Load matrix from past digs (approximatly 20 bags)
    4 hours
  • Take up bones to land owner
    0 hours
  • Do detailed stratigraphic section. Requires digging a trench.
    16 hours
  • Catch bugs for insect biology study (Kenny)
    2 hours
  • Need to go into town for food, water, supllies.
    3 hour round trip into town and assume 2 hours to get supplies and food
    Schedule for hot afternoons and plan on two trips
    10 hours
  • Preperation time in the field if a bone is found, it must jacketed or protected in one way or another.
    Preperation time will vary depending on the size of the bone, matrix it is in, and whether or not the bone is independant or is still articulated with the rest of the skeleton.
    8 hours
  • Spend a day digging while I'm there (optional)
    8 hours
  • Travel time from Lawrence Kansas to Wyomingdig site
    2 Days


Schedule
      This is an approximate schedule for the trip. I'm expecting to spend about 1.5 hours per day packing/unpacking and transporting equipment. One hour to pack/unpack equipment and 30 minutes to transport from cabin to dig site and back. It might save time to camp out at the dig site to save this time, but the cabin has electricity and hot water. I mght have someone take a battery and charge it back at the cabin and I will stay with the equipment in the field.
  • Day 1

    Primary Goals
    1. Get to Wyoming

    Travel from Lawrence Kansas to dig site in wyoming
    Post map here with milage

  • Day 2

    Primary Goals
    1. get a complete understanding of stratigraphy
    2. Collect rock samples representative of each unit being surveyed with the radar
    3. Determine locations of 2d surveys to better understand the stratgraphy of the area.

    Use morning to do a site survey and look over intire field area. I will look for locations where the target stratigraphic unit is ouitcropping to get a better idea of the stragigraphy. It is likely that the bones and sediment were deposited in a fluvial enviroment which is difficult to understand, becuase fluvial environment are highly variable. Microchannels have been found in this locality which run parallel to each other in a northwest to southeast direction according to Kenny Bader. I will need to determin which areas a liekly to be trenched to I can run a survey before the ground is excavated. By looking at the stratigraphic and
  • Day 3
    Primary Goals
    1. Continue 2d survey of stratigraphy and finish if possible
    2. Make final determination of locations for 3d survey

  • Day 4
    Primary Goals
    1. Start 3d Survey

  • Day 5
    Primary Goals
    1. continue 3d Survey

  • Day 6
    Primary Goals
    1. continue 3d Survey

  • Day X - 1
    Primary Goals
    1. Finish all data collecting and run any additional GPR lines
    2. Make sure all data and samples are clearly labeled
    3. Back all equipment not need for that night

  • Day X
    Primary Goals
    1. Pack supplies need for the night before
    2. Return to Lawrence Kansas

Data Collection Parameters
      I will have to try out a few different atennas once I get out to the field site. I will be using the pulseEKKO 1000 for this survey which uses a range of different antenna frequencies. To do the stratigraphy I will be using the 225mhz or 450mhz antenna. If there is an area which requires more detail, then I will use the 900mhz antenna.

Maximum Step size
(to avoid aliasing)
900 mhz		0.025 meters
450 mhz		0.05 meters
225 mhz		0.10 meters

Antenna separation
I will be using the default antenna seperation for each antenna.

Targe Depth
      the target depth for all surveys will be less than 2 or 3 meters. The reason for this limitation is that the are has to excavated by hand or front end loaded (aka bobcat or similar equipment if avaliabe). Becuase the removeal of material is a slow process the survey is limiting itself to shallow targets which could be excavated easily by hand. It is possible that bones could be very shallow or even exposed at the surface.

Host Material
      The remains are located in a The sand stone unit below the mud stone is not always known and is variable. Ths variablity is common in a fluvial (river) depositional system.

Target geometry
      

Electrical Properties
       Mudstone/shale
Sandstone
bone


Survey Environment
      The enviroment in which the survey is run will favor the GPR unit bacause of the arid enviroment. The lack of moisture will help the lithostratigraphic units stand out more in the radar and increase the penetration depth. I will need 15 minutes in the morning to allow the GPR unit to warm up and I will need to keep the control unit in the shade during the afternoon to avoid temperature flucuation which will affect the data collection.

Survey Logistics
      before running the survey print out digital pictures use spray paint to mark survey area

Additional Information on fluvial systems
      Work done in previous years by Kenny Bader andothers has determined the unit that contains the remains is likely to be a fluvial system. Bones of various size and shape have been presourved in this unit. Becuase of the small grain size in the mudstone unit, as well as the fact that specimen such as the dryosaur are still articulated tells us that the fluvial unit was moving slowly.
A fluvial system will contain the following sedimentary structures

A fluvial system will NOT contain the following sedimentary structures

It is important to note that not everything gets preserved in the stratigraphic record, and just becuase a partiucalar structure is not found, does not mean that it was not there at one time. It will be important to note what sedimentary structure, grain size, and rock compositions are found so that other locaties could be located which may contain more specimens.
ANDREW should use satillite image to determin modern analogue

Supplies
       Tools
  • Spray Paint
    for marking up survey site, need two colors which wil stand out
  • Plastic steaks and string
    Just in case the spray paint turns out to be a bad idea
  • Laser level
    for marking straight survey lines. Might be a good idea to do this in the evening or earily in the morning so the laser will more more visable.
  • Tape Measure
    Used to determint location on survey line
  • Tent
  • Sleeping bag and extra blankets
  • Printer
    Use for printing pictures in the field to take notes on
  • Plastic sleeves to protect printed pictures
  • Ground penetrating radar Include 225,450, and 900 mhz antenna
  • Laptop for collecting data<
    Bring extra battery
  • Inverter for powering laptop off of battery
  • Two battery chargers
    take two batteries into the field each day
  • three deep cycle batteries
  • water containers
    Need to take at least 8 liters of water into the field.
    Will need 32 liters (approx. 8 gallons) to last up to three days
  • Sedimentology textbook
  • Field book
  • Digital camera
  • USB drive and Zip drive
    Backup GPR data collected in the field as well as pictures taken
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